


No One Cares

by StevetheIcecube



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Death, Drowning, F/M, Loss, Murder, Suicide, The Author Regrets Nothing, This sounds so cheerful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StevetheIcecube/pseuds/StevetheIcecube
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lilycloud knows that Coalstorm isn't happy anymore, but after an argument that reveals more about her friend's intentions than she is comfortable with, she tries to stop her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No One Cares

'I wish I was dead.'

Coalstorm's words echoed in my head. She wishes that she's dead. She can't. She can't leave this world behind, to join another. She has something to live for, right? She has me, and...

No one. No one except me. Her best friend, who has a mate, and kits that love her.

Coalstorm's daughter died in leafbare, because of a selfish elder who wouldn't give his food away. He died the day after Ashenkit's death. No guesses on how he died.

Well, Darkleaf, Mistyheart and Coalstorm said that they found him with his neck snapped, at the riverside near the stepping-stones. Must have slipped.

He never said he was going out of camp, he just turned up dead. Surprisingly, no one suspected Coalstorm. Eyes turned to Heatherfur, his daughter, who hated him.

Ashenkit was the only one of Coalstorm's kits to forgive her. Acornwing and Stormtail hate her.

And, well, Darkleaf is dead.

Struck down on a hunting patrol with his mother and mate, by a WindClan warrior. The tale told by the elders is that Coalstorm spun into a fury at his death, ripping Blizzardleap's eyes out. I don't doubt it, to be honest.

I don't doubt that Coalstorm wants to die, either.

I sigh at the early setting sun, and padded back into the nursery after a lick of goodnight from Dustclaw. My was belly not yet particularly heavy, but Dustclaw did not want to take any chances about my life. Darkleaf trusted Coalstorm to be alone when she was pregnant, though they always preferred to be together.

My nest was soft in the sweet-smelling nursery, the moss gently tickling my chin as I settled down, to the soft mews of Nightkit in his sleep, along with Tigerkit's harsh rasping from his sore throat. "Take him to Frostear tomorrow." I whispered to Mousetail, and she nodded gently, putting her head down and drifting off to sleep.

I curled up, trying to hold in the warmth of the nest in this cold leafbare.

My nightmares were haunted with Coalstorm, her new scars glowing in the dawn light of my dream. Her bushy fur ruffled in the wind. She looked haunted, vulnerable. She turned around and started running, and I gave chase. Her sprint was desperate, and she made no sign of slowing as the trees thinned, and the gorge came into view.

I woke up with a start, shaking. Would Coalstorm really do that? Would she kill herself to be with Darkleaf? With Ashenkit? In the peace of the nursery, pain so extreme is very hard to imagine. Such innocence...

'I'm not innocent.'

Another thing Coalstorm told me yesterday evening. Well, I presume it was yesterday. The glint of Silverpelt is starting to fade from the sky. This is when Coalstorm would be at her most depressed, when she can no longer see Darkleaf. Even if Coalstorm is not innocent, her love for Darkleaf is the purest, strongest bond I've ever seen.

I make up my mind. I trotted quickly out of camp, nodding to Stormtail, who is on camp guard. He nods to me, but scowls slightly, wishing he could be with his mate instead of out here in the cold. "Looking for Coalstorm?" He asked coldly.

"Actually, I am. I'm a bit worried about her." He snarled at me when I said those words.

"No point saving her. The Clan will be better off without a miserable cat drooping around." I looked at him sternly and exited camp.

The cold breeze ruffled my fur, and I shivered. How Coalstorm does this almost all the time... I'll never know. I get a sense of urgency as the sky lightens, and I start running.

I hear Coalstorm sobbing in the distance. "Yes...please..." I whisper, out of breath. Suddenly, Coalstorm springs to her feet, and runs off. My breath quickens. No!

'I might as well...'

I run, fast, seeing her run ahead, her words taunting me in my mind.

'No one will know...'

I will. I have to slow as the trees thin out. "Coalstorm, stop!" I cry "I care about you!"

She whips around. "But you don't care as much as Darkleaf. You never will. I might as well. No one was meant to know. Sure, I'm not innocent enough for StarClan, I think. I have too much blood on my paws. I may as well wish for this, as my heart lies in the next stage of my life: death."

She looks at me straight. I'm shocked by the pain in her eyes. A flash of hope dances across them as I hold her gaze. She steps away, towards me. My heart slows painfully.

Then she jumps.

"Coalstorm!" I cry.

"It's fine, Lilycloud. It's warm to me." I swear that she smiles and goes under. I know for a fact that she breathed in purposely.

My best friend.

Gone.


End file.
